For many students, English as a foreign language (EFL) assessments are
high-stake examinations, the results of which will determine their future
study and career paths. This thesis will present data gathered from
questionnaires of students and examiners, filmed interviews, audio
recordings and focus group feedback. The key question posed is: is it
possible for international EFL exams to have global applicability and
therefore maintain test validity? Furthermore, to what extent should
international EFL test writers take into account the regional, socio-cultural
context of the recipient student body when making question choices and
devising assessment criteria? This thesis attempts to address these questions
through interpretive case study research of oral interview assessment in a
female campus of a tertiary college in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
CAT (Communication Accommodation Theory) was the theoretical tool
used to examine the interaction between examiners and candidates during
the IEL TS-style oral assessment.
The study looked at the questions typically asked in an international EFL
interview and the reaction of the participants, both linguistically and
behaviourally, to the context of the interview and the method of assessment
of the communication in those interviews. The aim was to have a better
understanding of how female Emirati candidates respond to the various
aspects of an international EFL speaking assessment in the context of their
own cultural, social and religious constructs.
Analysis of the data reveals that that there is a mismatch between the
perceptions of the examiners and the participants, in several areas, and that
this has the potential to affect grade outcomes, as seen in the case study
interviews. The study concludes that there is scope for both a broader range
in the choice of questions in speaking assessments and a need for examiners
to be prepared to choose questions more judiciously, in line with the
cultural context of the candidates and that this is possible without
jeopardising the validity of the assessment. The findings also show that
there are clear differences between the grading of face to face and audio
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recorded interviews and that these should be considered when grading
criteria are written. Overall the study contributes a variety of insights into
the field of oral assessment and has implications for test writers, assessors,
candidates and publishers, since, in the case of international EFL oral
assessments, it appears that 'one-size' does not fit all.